A videó átirata
I am Andy Teach, host of Andy's Awesome Adventures
and welcome to Rome, Italy.
The Roman
Colosseum is one of the most
recognizable buildings in the world and
attracts millions of tourists a year. it
was built not only to provide
entertainment for the people of Rome but
also to make a statement, that the Roman
Empire was second to none. Emperors used
the Colosseum to entertain the public
with free games those games were a
symbol of prestige and power, and they
were a way for an emperor to increase his
popularity. The huge amphitheater was
built on the site of an artificial lake
part of Emperor Nero's huge park in the
center of Rome which included a nearby
giant statue of Nero that was named
after the Colossus of Rhodes,
hence the eventual name of Colosseum.
The Colosseum could accommodate an estimated
50 to 70,000 spectators who entered the
building through about 80 numbered
entrances, including two for the
gladiators and two for the Emperors.
There were 110 drinking fountains and
two restrooms. Above the ground are four
stories. The first level was for VIPs:
Emperors, senators and ambassadors as
well as Vestal Virgins. The second level
was for teachers, knights, basically
wealthy people. The third level was for
slaves and the lower class. Many seats
were made out of marble. The top level had no
seats and was reserved for women.
Entrance was free but tickets were used
made out of pottery shards and small bones.
The building measures 617 by 512 feet, or
188 meters by 156 meters and it reaches
a height of more than 159 feet, or 48
meters. The structure was built with
marble and 160 larger-than-life statues
that Dorn the arches on the upper floors.
The arena floor is made out of wood and
covered with sand. The Colosseum was
covered with an enormous awning, known as
the Velarium. This protected the
spectators from the Sun. It was attached
to large poles on top of the Colosseum
and anchored to the ground by large
ropes. Roman sailors operated it and
raised and lowered the awning, like sails
from a ship.
Now there are several myths
that have been perpetuated by Hollywood
movies, but according to some historians
many are only partially true or not true
at all. Myth number one: the Colosseum was
always known as the Colosseum. Actually
the Colosseum was originally known as
the Flavian amphitheatre, and was the
largest building of the era.
Emperor Vespasian, founder of the Flavian
dynasty, started construction on the
Coliseum in 72 AD, it was completed in 80
AD, the year after Vespasian's death. The
Colosseum was financed Vespasian's sacking of Jerusalem and
twelve to twenty thousand Jewish slaves
built it using wooden cranes. Vespasian's
son Titus led the celebration, 108
games that marked the inaguration of
the building, where some 9,000 wild
animals were slaughtered. Another 11,000
were later killed as part of a hundred and
twenty-three Day Festival held by the
Emperor Trajan in the second century AD.
Myth number two: all gladiators were
slaves. In fact not all gladiators were
brought to the arena in chains.
While most early combatants were
conquered people and slaves, who have
committed crimes, grave inscriptions show
that by the 1st century AD the
demographics has started to change. Lured
by the thrill of battle and the roar of
the crowds scores of free men began
voluntarily signing contracts with
gladiator schools in the hope of winning
glory and prize money. These free lance
warriors, were often desperate men or
ex soldiers, skilled in fighting, but
some were upper-class patricians, knights,
or even senators eager to demonstrate
their warrior skills.
Myth number 3: gladiators always fought to the death.
Hollywood movies and television shows
often depict gladiatorial bouts as a
bloody free-for-all, but most fights
operated under fairly strict rules and
regulations. Contests were typically
single combat between two men of similar
size and experience. Referees oversaw the
action and probably stopped the fight as
soon as one of the participants was
seriously wounded. A match can even end
in a stalemate if the crowd became bored
by a long and drawn-out battle, and in
rare cases both warriors were allowed to
leave the arena with honor, if they put
on an exciting show for the crowd.
Furthermore since gladiators were
expensive to house, feed and train their
promoters didn't want them to be
needlessly killed. Trainers may have
taught their fighters to wound, not
kill, and the combatants may have taken
it upon themselves to avoid seriously
hurting their fellow gladiators.
Nevertheless the life of a gladiator was
usually brutal and short, most only lived
to their mid-20s and historians have
estimated somewhere between 1 and 5 and
1 in 10 bouts left one of its
participants dead.
Myth number 4: gladiators were always men. Actually
female slaves were regularly condemned
to the arena, alongside their male
counterparts, but a few of them were free.
Historians aren't sure when women first
suited up to fight as gladiators, but
by the first century AD they were a common sight.
Myth number five: thumbs down meant that the emperor wanted the
gladiator to be killed. If a gladiator
was seriously wounded or threw down his
weapon in defeat,
his fate was left in the hands of the
spectators. In contest held at the
Colosseum the Emperor had the final
say in whether the failed warrior lived
or died,
but rulers and fight organizers often let
the people make the decision. Paintings
and films often show the throngs giving
a thumbs down gesture when they wanted a
disgraced gladiator to be finished off,
but this may not be accurate. Some historians
think the sign for death may
have actually been the thumbs up, while
closed fist with two fingers extended, a
thumbs down, or even a waved
handkerchief might have signaled mercy.
Whatever gesture was used, it was
typically accompanied by cries of either
let him go, or slay him.
If the crowd willed it the victorious
gladiator would end the battle by
stabbing his opponent between the
shoulder blades or through the neck and into the heart.
Myth number six gladiators always fought wild animals.
The Colosseum and other Roman arenas
are often associated with gruesome
animal hunts, but it was uncommon for the
gladiators to be involved. Tangling with
wild beasts was reserved as special
classes of warrior, who fought deer,
ostriches, lions, crocodiles, bears and
even elephants. Animal hunts were
typically the opening event at the games.
Where most animals were merely
slaughtered for sport, others were
trained to do tricks and even pitted
against one another in fights. Wild
animals also served as a popular form of
execution. Convicted criminals and
christians were often thrown to ravenous,
dogs, lions and bears as part of the
day's entertainment. In the morning men
fought animals, at noon was the execution
of prisoners, and in the afternoon men fought men.
Myth number 7: gladiators were seen as uncivilized brutes with no
loyalty from the people. In reality the
gladiators won massive fame among the
lower classes. Their portraits graced the
walls of many public places, children
played with gladiator action figures made
out of clay, they were also renowned for
their ability to make Roman women swoon.
The hypogeum literally means underground,
and refers to the vast network of rooms,
cells, tunnels and passages under the
Colosseum. Below the ground were rooms
with mechanical devices and cages
containing wild animals. The cages could
be hoisted by elevators enabling the
animals to appear in the middle of the
arena through trapdoors.
Lions, tigers, elephants and even whales were used.
One of the most surprising things to me,
was that mock naval battles were held at
the Colosseum. They flooded the arena and
brought in ships to stage these mock battles.
The Colosseum saw four centuries of active use, until the struggles of the
Western Roman Empire and the gradual
change of public tastes put an end to
gladiatorial combats and other large
public entertainment by the 6th century
AD. Even by that time, the arena had
suffered damage due to natural phenomena,
such as lightning and earthquakes. In
fact in 847 AD, the southern side of the
colosseum was felled by an earthquake. In
the centuries to come, the Colosseum was
abandoned completely, and the marble was
reused for numerous building projects in
Rome. Beginning in the 18th century
however various popes sought to
conserve the arena as a sacred Christian
site, though it's in fact uncertain
whether early Christian martyrs met
their fate in the Coliseum, as has been
speculated. By the 20th century a
combination of weather, natural disasters,
neglect and vandalism have destroyed
nearly two-thirds of the original
Colosseum, including all of the arena's
marble seats and its decorative elements.
Restoration efforts began in the 1990s
and proceeded over the years, as the
Colosseum continues to be a leading
attraction for tourists from all over
the world.